Surfish Bistro Reviews

We celebrated my aunt's birthday on thursday, January 31. It was the coldest day of this year. Due to the weather, I thought our party would be the only people there. however, people we constantly coming in. I guess nothing can spoil the desire for a good food, cozy ambiance, attentive service from your waiter and a glass of good old sangria! The owner Magda promised a birthday party that we would like. She totally delivered her promise by serving us exceptional food that looked and tasted delicious. Before that day, we were not familiar with Peruvian food and our waiter Alex gave us an amazing introduction and got us addicted to it!! The party was a total success! We will be back Surfish Bistro! It's a gem in Brooklyn!

The food SUPERB!! Best Lomo saldado I've ever had! If you don't know what to eat, this is your best choice! The cebiche sample amazing! The atmosphere of the place is warm and friendly. Excellent service! If you are touristing NY you should stop here! If you live close, then much better, try it once! You'll became a regular, I guarantee you!

We came here for a friends birthday and enjoyed ourselves. We (5 of us) all got a dish, as well as 1 to 2 drinks each and the bill came out to about $315. I gotta say, the portions were small-normal and it was quite pricey overall BUT the food was good and the drinks were fine. Overall a nice experience.

Every dish looked delicious, and mine (cauliflower soup, Brussels sprouts, rice and beans) was excellent. Those who had steak and salmon reported their dishes were great, too. A creative twist on the Negroni cocktail effectively substitutes Peruvian pisco for gin. Nice! But when busy, the kitchen fell behind on Mother's day, leaving "mom" unserved for 10 minutes after everyone else was served. The only large (6-top) table on the first floor has an unfortunate view of the serving stations and restroom door. To sum up: terrific food, so-so service, and unimpressive ambiance. Maybe they'll be successful enough to move into nicer quarters. I hope so.

Had heard about this place from several family members and finally had the opportunity to have lunch and dinner, yes, dinner the same day. The food was fabulous! We ordered the ceviche combination: spicy tuna with fried oyster(sublime), octopus ceviche(fantastic) and avocado with tuna (delicious). We also had the mango salad which was fantastic. In addition we had a seafood stew made of tomato and chipotle(I think) base, also superb. All this with a Cusqueña beer. We returned later that day for more. This time we had a ceviche combination of fatty tuna with ponzu sauce(truly delicious), mixed ceviche and again the spicy tuna with fried oyster. To close we had a suspiro limeño, a wonderful Peruvian dessert. Overall this was a truly exceptional gastronomical experience. Would definitely come back again to this place

Very happy to give this 5 stars. Five of us were in the area and turned up without a booking and we were lucky to get a table. We had a variety of fish dishes and they were all delicious. Stand outs for me was the squid fried and ceviche, the avacado salad, and the mussels. Others recommended the tacos. We paid an average of $34 each (not including drinks), including tip and ate very well.

We had a fun dinner here on a snowy night. Pisco sour drinks are excellent and tapas plates are large, you can easily make a dinner from them. Husband and I shared a skirt steak entree also, cooked perfectly and tender and flavorful.

We came to this restaurant for dinner as it was recommended by co-worker and reviews. It was Friday eve and place was half empty. We were placed by the kitchen where everyone walks by so we took initiative and moved ourselves to another table. We were served chips with dips which was thoughtful, then waitress who's the owner took our order. We ordered two different ceviches and boy both were so so sour swimming in lime juice and vinegar. We asked for beer and were served it but when asked for an authentic one were given something that didn't look or taste like beer but were pushed onto it. Also mussels were half cooked since shells on the most of them were still closed and when asked "the waitress" she said "what do you know about it"!Then main courses arrived! We got rib eye steak and shrimp risotto. Steak had more fat than meat and it was soaked in the mud of whatever sauce with brussel sprouts on top. It was gross!!! Before ordering shrimp risotto I asked if it was spicy and was told no not at all. Let me tell you my mouth was in fire!!! But not only that rice was hard and uncooked to the most which make the whole dish disgusting!!! Weitress kept in coming to us with a smirk on her face asking if everything was alright ? How could it be if our dinner was screwed up royally!!! Never again we would go back to this place and never would recommend it!!!! Big disappointment!!!

Nice place with live jazz music. We enjoyed two big and tasty salads. They cook different kind of cuisine: from japanese to peruvian.

Our family of my wife, I, daughter, and granddaughter dined at Surfish Bistro on 3rd Avenue on Saturday night. I ate a great avocado salad with mixed greens and a savory-sweet dressing, salmon escoviche on skewers with patients as an appetizer, and A wonderful skirt steak with a unique sauce for the entree. My daughter had the same appetizer and a wonderfully flavorful risotto and shrimp entree. My w ice had a baked chicken dish with a very flavorful sauce and garlic mashed potato. The granddaughter had the same great chicken dish. We were celebrating 3 birthdays for this festive occasion and the staff surprised us by singing happy birthday wishes to us. It was a great experience. We ate heat last year and it was good. This year in all possible ways it was great. I highly recommend this restaurant. The owner-chef is highly skilled and creative and the wait staff is friendly and attentive. They even prepared some duck sliders for us at our request that were not listed on the menu. The duck was fabulous.

My godson and I went there because we wanted something out of the ordinary! This place was great!! Tiny restaurant with very good offerings. I had the beef-ribs and he had the chicken with rice. Both were well presented and tasted great! The waiter was wonderful, with a good sense of humor, friendliness and attentiveness. The little appetizer was simply wonderful. My godson said, "I wish I didn't eat that in one bite so that I could slowly savor the flavor!!" Too bad we were just too full to try the desserts, although only two items were available that evening. Highly recommended. I will return there for another gastronomical experience!

Delicious from fresh and tangy ceviche, presented as the works of art that they are, to black ink squid paella served in a ceramic pot with a lid, through a wonderful finish with freshly baked chocolate souffle paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Wines by the glass are very good, and there's a full bar too. The service is professional, attentive and personable. The ambiance is casual in a clean simple space with a large bar, and a much larger dining room than their former digs.

It was late. It was raining and this restaurant was right across the street from the hotel. We were amoung the last people to come in but the staff welcomed us as if we were the first. The restaurant dimly lit with candles on the tables was a relaxing warm and cosy refuge from the rainy night and a long travel day. We hadn't experienced Peruvian food before but with a lovely bottle of chilled Chardonnay it was just what we needed. The Risotto de Cameron's was DELICIOUS! The service excellent...what a lovely Welcome to Brooklyn on a very unwelcoming weather wise evening.

We went here for our anniversary and Surfish did not disappoint. Everything was just so delicious and they do not skimp on the food -- we had enough for two meals after what we ate. The skirt steak was delicious as was the shrimp tamales appetizer. We ended the night with some churros. The service was great and we can't wait to be back!

We've booked without knowing exactly what kind of restaurant it was. When we've been there we have realized how fantastic place it is. Great dish, very courtesy service.....and last but not least: a really good jazz swing. GREAT!!!

You've got lots of "ethnic" choices dining out in Brooklyn--if you like seafood this will knock your socks off. Great service with people who know the cuisine and can help you choose some new dishes you may have never tried--and you should! Tried it once and then came back for more. Def try the ceviches and the hamachi tartare as well as Peruvian specialties like papa ala huancaina and the drink chicha morada. Entrees all good--one unusual is the Black Paella. Great prices and fun atmosphere--good for date or even families. FYI this 3rd Ave address is correct--there is another listing on 5th Ave--check out their website for latest!

Impromptu dinner date and I was so happy I came out... Everything from service to food to the ambiance was great. First let's begin with the chips and 2 different types of dipping sauce. The chips were fresh and perfect . Move on to the ceviche- I tried the sampler- pineapple tuna, toro con palta, and the atun blanco. ALL 3 were AMAZING. The beef heart which is served as an appetizer with yuca was so tender. For the entree , I filled myself with the Entrana Tacu Tacu which is Steak served with a quail egg and tacu tacu. I'm new to the tacu tacu scene. The hubby had the Cordero which is a lamb shank served on what I thought was polenta but may have been beans. From beginning to end....Everything was flavorful. There is no dessert menu but there are definitely desserts. Try the butter cookie (super soft) with dulce de leche ice cream :) sooooooo good...Sometimes when you go out to eat you get a sense the food was premade or rushed. Not the case here- went home stuffed and spent under $150. Surfish Bistro did not disappoint.

First time at this place it was a Tuesday evening at 7.30pm. The food was wonderful but the service was uneven. Our drink order came one at a time and the last drink came about a half hour after the other two. It was scattered and slow service but everyone was very very nice. But there was band playing, they were great, BUT why in a small restaurant would you want a loud band (no matter how good they were) playing. There was no way we could have a dinner conversation or hear what our friends were saying. I think that while people are dining the music should be kept at a low volume and maybe after 10 they can convert the place to drinks and tapas and blast the music then. It really made our meal time unpleasant....sorry. Will try again when there is no music or maybe just a violin !

If we had stumbled on this place sooner we would have returned nightly to try everything on the menu. As it was, we have always loved ceviche so we started with the Ceviche Mixto and the Tiradito de Pulpo (Octopus). We loved the pulpo so much we tried it grilled as well with potatoes and corn (Pulpo Anticuchero) and then split the Salmon entree with a wonderful Peruvian-style curry along with a side of fried yuca. There were excellent looking meat and poultry dishes on the menu but for us it's all about the seafood when we eat Peruvian. This was easily one of the best Peruvian restaurants we have eaten in and the ambience was cozy and familial. We'll be back there for sure on a return trip to the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn.

I'd like to start by saying that I worked in restaurants and catering for 30 years, and have seen my share of unnecessarily complaining customers. The last thing I want to do is be one of them. But I was excited to go on a date night with my wife to Surfish this evening (we had had a couple of nice meals there before), but had a lousy experience this time. We had good pisco sours and a nice ceviche (which is why I'm giving any stars here), but when our entrees came, my wife's salmon fillet was nearly raw. She said she'd just eat around it, but I politely asked a waiter to take it back to the kitchen. (I cook salmon once a week, and cook it just enough so it's pink and moist--and I have decades of experience serving properly cooked salmon.) This was a translucent, jelly-like piece of undercooked fish.) I swear I'm not making this up: the waiter gave me a look and she rudely said, "You just ate ceviche, right? THAT was raw"--as if the fact that we ordered an appetizer that was meant to be raw somehow meant that we should be okay with an undercooked $31 entree. She did take the food back to the chef, though, but my wife and I had to wait about ten minutes until the salmon came back. (Cooked right this time.) We ordered one desert to share, and had a good long wait for that. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us a check for someone else's table. At that point, I asked to speak to the manager, and--though this was a busy Saturday night at 8 p.m.--was told that there was no manager on the premises.

Nice little cozy place with not to many tables. Service by Agnieszka and staff was exceptional. The Black Paella and the Ribs were deemed exceptional. Salmon had none of the usual fishy smell and was cooked to perfection. We will definitely be back.

The ceviche was absolutely superb. My husband had a beef entree he enjoyed. I had the black paella, which was too salty and literally included about 3-4 cups of rice! The seafood was good. A jazz band was playing making it virtually impossible to talk. People go to restaurants to eat and talk. Background music is nice. This was like being in the first row of a jazz club and I did not like it. Finally, don't ask for help with a cab. They gave us the number for an unlicensed, unmetered cab. So overall, good food if too salty, excellent service, bad ambiance if you actually want to talk to your dinner party.

We have eaten in many establishments around the world and never experienced the disparate treatment received at this establishment. The treatment was racist and anti-Asian. We picked this establishment based on “Yelp’s” reviews. On 3/6/19 it was 26° outside when my wife and I entered Surfish at 7pm and left at 8pm. We were greeted by a female with blonde hair with, “Do you have reservations?” – there were only 12 patrons (non-Asians) seated in the restaurant. “I replied “No”. “Let me check and set up a table for you”. We were seated right next to a table of 8 which was loud. We could have been seated away from the noise as the other non-Asians patrons were. At this point we were going to leave, but I wanted to see if this disparate treatment was an anomaly, so we stayed. While we were dinning, a party of 4 (non-Asians) entered and was never asked if they had “reservations” and was seated in a quieter part of the restaurant. 10 mins later a party of 2 (non-Asians) entered and was never asked if they had reservations and was seated in a quiet part of the restaurant. 10 mins later a party of one (non-Asian) entered and was never asked if he had made reservations and was offered a seat at the bar or at a table for 2 away from the loud party. After the 3rd seating it was obvious that Asians were not welcome here. If Surfish has a surveillance camera, the video will support my full accounting of what happened and can also be used for sensitivity training. We ordered a Chicken and Fish Taco and Sweet Plantain which was very good, and the server was very attentive.

Excellent. I have been coming to this jem stone event since it was opened about 5 years ago. Chef Miguel from Peru really knows his stuff and he strives for the best. I have consistently raved about this rare find where a local neighborhood restaurant easily compares in quality to the top Manhattan establishments. Take Chupe for example. Chupe here is a world class! I have eaten 10 chupe soups here over the years, and every time it is sooo good! Highly recommend this restaurant.

Came across Surfish on a quick family trip, and I leave highly impressed with their exquisite Peruvian cuisine. Many Peruvian restaurants have become a lot more high end in the past few years, and with that they have lost the traditional essence of our food. However Surfish is an exception, they have found the perfect balance with traditional and modern cuisine. Must have: Palta rellena, Ceviche Trio and Lomo Saltado. Great location, family friendly, good cocktails and really good service.

Quick tasty business lunch. Delicious seafood cervichi sampler. Quick, friendly professional service. Nice renovation. Convenient in South Slope Brooklyn. I'll eat here again if I'm in this neighborhood at lunch.

Where do I start? We had a table of 8. The service was attentive, not pushy, and we were well taken care of. My dinner consisted of the black paella, which may classify as one of the best meals I've ever eaten. A bed of black rice topped with a generous assortment of clams, mussels, squid, and shrimp--so delicious! I couldn't finish it and took the remainder home. My wife (A world class chef herself) had the chaufa de quinoa and she's still raving about it. Also not to be missed is the risotto con camarones. For cocktails we enjoyed various piscos with ginger and bitters--very refreshing and tasty! A bit pricey, but we definitely recommend this excellent dining experience!

Really nice seafood. Gets crowded so get reservations. Great place for a date. Service was on point.

Excellent and delicious food! We had oysters, trio of ceviche, tuna tacos and a fabulous fish dish. Our 2nd time there, still the best. Service was perfect. I'd g o back today if I could.

Tonight is the first, and last, time we will eat here. My wife is Peruvian and we both looked forward to eating a good Peruvian meal. Unfortunately, half of our meal never came. We ordered our appetizers (ceviche and chicharron sliders) with our entrees (lamb shank and lomo saltado). The appetizers arrived - the ceviche mix was okay, but the fish had an aftertaste. The sliders were mostly sweet potato with very little pork. My lomo arrived and then we waited... and waited... and waited... for more than 45 minutes. No one came back to our table to ask us how the food was, or fill us in on the status of the lamb shank. When we finally got the attention of someone waiting on the table next to us we told her to cancel the lamb shank and bring our check. No one ever apologized for the hour we'd waited for an entree that never came, or offered any kind of explanation. What we ate was mediocre (half the lomo was warm, the other half lukewarm) and what we didn't is apparently still wandering around somewhere in Gowanus.

We are always looking for new Peruvian restaurants to try.. Surfish is definitely one of my favorites. Wonderful and innovative dishes along with amazing pisco... I recommend this highly! A bit pricy but definitely worth every penny!!!

So tasty and good! Fast and efficiënt staff. Chicken and lamb entrees are a very good choice and we loved the Argentinian lager and Zolo chardonnay! Great place to go for an holesome meal

Amazing Chupe. I have had it here at least 5 times. And the whole restaurant is serving an amazing food right in the heat of Beooklyn. I love this place.

This was my second visit to Surfish in Brooklyn NY. The service was very accommodating and food was excellent. On my first visit I ordered the Black Paella. The rice was so flavorful and chock full of fresh seafood. On my second visit I ordered the Asada, which was a tender flavorful serving of short ribs of beef atop a bed of delicious quinoa. This was my first time eating quinoa. I'm now a convert. The marriage of the beef, quinoa and sauce was a delicious union. The portions are large. After each meal, I had a generous take home box. The sangria and mixed cocktails are great. Nothing but happy faces in this bistro. I plan to go back at the end of the month for my birthday!

We visited this nicely decorated restaurant on Saturday June 10th. We had eaten at their sister restaurant on 5th Avenue the weekend before. The service was attentive. We loved the fish taquito appetizer the hanger steak chimmichuri, the lamb shank, the seared salmon with shrimp mash potatoes. The presentation of all dishes was beautiful and the taste was sublime. We had a wonderful time and highly recommend this restaurant to all who wish a great meal and great atmosphere.

Went here with a group of 6 on Saturday night. Corner restaurant in Gowanus. Had reservations. Seated immediately. Not very crowded at 7:30 when we got there, but got crowded over time. A bit noisy because of poor acoustics and the lighting is not great but otherwise a nice spot. Big bar. We started out with some pisco cocktails which were nice. Different. We ordered 3 different ceviches to share which were all very good. Entrees were in the $20 range and all were large. We each ordered 1. Salmon, risotto, black paella, chicken, lomo saltado......all were very good and filling. We did not order any tapas or dessert. Overall a nice restaurant. Worth checking out.

Twas a wonderful labor day weekend and I wanted to cap it off with just a little something to add to 2016's greatest culinary hits on a lovely nostalgic Sunday night. I had high hopes what with the reviews I read about Surfish and the top chef and what sounded like the integrity of the whole approach to top line cuisine. Against my own brain that told me not to do it, I ordered the Paella with black squid ink (as encouraged by my dining partner, so we - both definite Paella fans- could sample it). Wow, what a mistake. I would only recommend this dish if you actually like to spend(read: waste) money that could have easily have gone towards a full tank of gas on a bowl of taste-free black rice with calamari, shrimp, chorizo(?) and mussels which you like to "fish" out so you can at least have something to eat! My bad, because I started to ask them to prepare the rice saffron style instead of squid style but I didn't want to mess with the formula so I decided what did I have to lose being adventurous. I will not write Surfish off because I still want to try more of what they have to offer but I will never ever evvvverrr order the black paella a-gain! My dining companion fared much much better with the Salmon and sweet potato mash, the little bit I got to taste, for it was such a small portion that all of the salmon was consumed by the time I decided to sample, but the mash was very tasty and he reports that the salmon was real good too. The $28 pitcher of Sangria was a delight, bold, bodied and chock full o cut up fruits that made me have to steady myself once I stood up to leave. The complimentary plantain chips and sauce at the start was also good and I wanted more of the green dipping sauce which was excellent. All in all, for leaving $80 lighter, I really don't think it was worth the bother, but I am willing to give them one more chance to redeem themselves with something other than Paella. We've had about 3x volume of regular Paella other places in Bk, Bx and NJ that we enjoyed for days. IDK who's bright idea it was to make black paella, but my advice is please leave Black Rice to my Haitian brethren (Diri ak Djon Djon) and steer clear of this version.

We went there for Saturday night dinner. The ceviche was super fresh. We had the ceviche sampler. Salmon was the winner. I had the Entrana Tacu-Tacu. The skirt steak was a little bit chewy. The tacu tacu was cooked perfectly. The desserts were great too. My kids loved every bite of it. The restaurant was a bit noisy..

Had an early birthday dinner after going here once for Valentine's Day. The food was even better than I remember and I enjoyed so much both times I have dined. There were 9 of us and we ordered a random assortment of appetizers and entrees and desserts to share. Also ordered a pitcher of Sangria which hit the spot just right. We were seated upstairs, which was perfect because downstairs was fairly crowded and less spacious between tables and the bar. My favorite dish was the black seafood paella which has squid ink in it - it was so delicious! Also another tip: the Mussels are great for sharing. I'm happy to have chosen Surfish for my birthday dinner, and I converted a number of people to visit again (so expect some more service in the near future)! Thank you for the excellent service and food :)

I had a wonderful lunch at Surfish yesterday. Very authentic dishes with a touch of sophistication. We enjoyed the Tuna ceviche, the shrimp tamal, entraña with tacu tacu and the chupe. An instant favorite

We came here as a group of 12 with reservations to celebrate a birthday. One of the couples been there before and recommended the restaurant. We were escorted to the second floor and luckily while they were busy, it didnt feel crowded. Staff: Friendly and make effort to be attentive. Felt that they were short on staff as it took while to get the order in and to get served. The manager or owner did stop by to ensure our service gets expedited. I also found that they dont know all the specials and dont talk much about them, it was disappointing that i saw the specials board after the fact and there were quiet a few good things there. Menu & Food: Overall, looks to have many decent options, but as per before, try to find out their specials. Food was hit and miss. Some portions were way to small and some were good size. Appetizers definitely were small. Ceviche was small and in my opinion not that good. We tried sampler and individuals and same result. Entries were better then appetizers but cant say anything jumped out where i can say, you must have it. Same went for desert. I enjoy trying different food venues, and while it might be worth a first visit for sure, it might be based on your taste buds. I cant say that i will be coming back.

It's a treat to find a Peruvian restaurant in Brooklyn. It's a special treat to find one with an expansive menu including a number of ceviche choices. The variety of Pisco Sours was impressive and the caipirinha (a Brazilian drink, but OK) was a pleasant surprise. The on line menu had terrific pictures of a number of food items. The prices on line differed from many that were higher at the restaurant (how hard can it be when you change then at the restaurant to also do so on line?). The fish and chips was listed on line but we did not find it on the restaurant menu. We were able to order it however and the fish was quite good as was the ceviche. The service is the big problem at this restaurant. Not only was it slow to absent, when the staff did show up they were in a hurry and lacking in basic social skills (never mind serving ones). The restaurant does take reservations but seemed not know to when reminded of that and stuck us in any available table however noisy and hot. The HVAC in this place needs adjusting. When we asked if there were a cooler table we were told they were all that hot and implied they were also hot. When the bill arrived they had "suggested" tips all of which included the tax in the base. Take a chance on this place for the food but until they can have basic civility in their servers, don't overtip them. That will perhaps stimulate the needed training and supervision.

This is a little off the beaten track in a neighborhood moving from industrial to residential use. The food is excellent and there is an entire page of drinks featuring Pisco. The ceviche dishes are more than merely marinated fish and some are very imaginative . The Tapas plates are large portions for sharing or could easily be a main dish with the addition of a side or two. I ordered a skirt steak medium rare and got exactly that which, if you are familiar with skirt steak, demonstrates real care in the kitchen. The only negative is that the restaurant was very noisy, they were playing music very loudly and it had a continuously pulsing beat, but it was a Saturday night. This is a place we will most certainly go back to.

I came here with my family. A group of eight. The food here is amazing. The drinks as well. We ordered ceviches, entraña (skirt steak), fried yuca, taquitos and black paella. We all shared. The portions are good. The food is cooked to perfection. Will be returning and recommending to everyone.

Tonight was our third visit and each one has been very worthwhile. The service is warm and friendly without being overbearing. The food is consistently excellent, especially the creative ceviche appetizers and tapas plates. A judicious number of these and a main course is unnecessary. The restaurant serves Pisco, a Peruvian brandy, and the famous Pisco Sour is a personal favorite. There are other drinks made with Pisco and friends have enjoyed all of them.

Went here to eat after visiting the David Bowie Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. We were seated right away and our waitress was very attentive although we were very slow in selecting what we wanted. We debated what we were going to eat after ordering Pisco Sours. They arrived and were delicious. We shared an Ahi Tuna Ceviche which was outstanding. I ordered the sea bass and was a little disappointed because it came with, what I thought, was a heavy creamy sauce. It was acceptable however. My girlfriend ordered the black paella which was very tasty. (Yes, I tried some). Our friends ordered the salmon and the lamb shank which they stated were very good. Overall, this is a great place to eat. I understand that there is usually a wait to get in without a reservation but we didn't wait at all.

This review might sound a little bit biased if we take into account that the owner/chef is a long time friend. I dared to write a few lines to describe such amazing experience (quality, presentation, taste & flavors and service). I met in NY with 4 friends for the marathon. Then after the contest, we decided to go visit Surfish because we had heard the food was tasty and delicious. Indeed it was. We tried 7 or 8 different plates (ceviches, chaufa de quinoa, ostras a la piedra, lomo saltado, entrana tacu-tacu and many pisco sours). Everything was yummy. I strongly recommend to visit this restaurant if you are in Brooklyn, NY. It is a must! Thanks "planchita" for such an amazing experience and Congratulations Top Chef...

The food is really good, the decor is not super comfortable and the delivery service was very slow. Other than that, the ceviche tasting and the pailla are really tasty !